Viz Allati
by Cptlatnok
Summary: Set after Born to Run. Realizing JDay is inevitable, John and Cameron work to strategically weaken Skynet and strengthen the resistance's chances, whilst developing their relationship. They also discover two potential allies in the fight against Skynet.
1. Explanation

Ok

I feel that this warrants an in depth explanation.

First let me say that I believe there are born readers and there are born writers. I recognize that I am a born reader. I'm good at it. I like doing it. I am not a writer. I swore to myself I would never involve myself in the writing of Fan Fiction… I have too much respect for the original material to subject it to my disjointed command of the English language, not to mention the respect I have for the Fan Fiction of the true wordsmiths on this site (Ravion, King Steve, Talli.b, Casobs, River2027, to name a few off the top of my head). Why then did I break my word?

I have been lamenting the loss of Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles and cursing FOX, Kevin Reilly, for a while now. My malaise quickly broadened in scope to include television as a whole, having just lost my other favorite show, Kyle XY (don't judge it till you watch it, its really good, believe me I was skeptical at first too). I am convinced that we will have American Idol, the Bachelor, and Fear Factor on half of all television channels very soon. The other half will of course be dedicated to CSI and Law and Order (I'm pulling for a Law and Order: Corporate Crimes… there is so much material, and CSI: North Dakota). Anyway, given my mad ADD, my thoughts wondered to a possible showdown between very strong, very beautiful women... what started as a very simple ficlet of an awesome showdown got so full of backstory that all of a sudden I had 5 chapters and still no battle royal. I have a pretty solid idea of how the fight will go and who is going to come out on top but I am curious to see if anyone else has an opinion. I figured I would publish the first chapters and hold off on the showdown for few days to give people the chance to weigh in.

Well that's it.

Let me apologize in advance for any terrible grammar, sentence structure that you may find. I tried!

Also please remember this is my first time so don't rip me a new one unless you really have too.

Here it is


	2. John Denver

**John Denver**

"Sarah?"

Sarah Connor's hands involuntarily tightened around the handle of her shopping cart as her pulse skyrocketed. _Relax. There are probably millions of Sarah's in Seattle._ She took a calming breath and continued down the aisle. Sighing inwardly she reached for some maple syrup, the fake kind, _I can't understand why John prefers this to the real thing_—

"Sarah Connor!"

Sarah froze. Hand almost to the Aunt Jemima, her mind ran through the emergency checklist instantly. _John: in the produce section. Weapons: Glock 21 tucked under my jacket at the small of my back, hunting knife strapped to my ankle. Exits: Front of the store…impractical, they probably already have a perimeter set up if they are confronting us. Loading dock it is then. _She spun around, one hand on the venerable plastic lady, the other whipping up behind her back to reach her gun. Her eyes scanned the aisle like a feral animal searching for the threat. She was met with the smiling face of a blond woman who looked slightly older than she was. Standing to the woman's left and slightly behind her was a young boy who couldn't be much older than John…

Sarah did something totally out of character; she hesitated.

"I thought that was you!" The woman beamed as she and the boy moved closer.

Sarah tensed even further.

Sensing what she thought was confusion from the lack of recognition, Nicole smiled and said "Sarah it's me, Nicole. Nicole Daniels."

Sarah's eyes remained blank

"As in Nicole Daniels daughter of your mother's sister, Betty Daniels?" it was more of a question than a statement. Nicole shook her head slightly from side to side while smiling "Ring any bells?"

Recognition hit Sarah like a truck. The years and the craziness that was her life melted away in an instant and she was 17 sitting around a campfire with the entire Daniels clan. Her father, who had yet to progress past the "happy drunk" phase into his trademark depressed and asocial drunk state, was telling the assorted children of the family a ghost story. Sarah was sitting near the back of the group next to a cousin she had met for the first time less than 3 days earlier. While she had initially protested this family reunion, it was on a dude ranch for Christ's sakes, Sarah was glad her family had finally made it to one of these. She loved the familial spirit that pervaded her mother's kin and was delighted to find that she had clicked with her younger cousin immediately. The blond 15 year old was focusing intensely but it was obviously not on her inebriated father's yarn. Sarah followed her gaze to the handsome ranch hand standing with a group of men at a smaller fire off to her left.

"Don't even think about it Nicole."

"Why, you got dibs on him or something?" shot back Nicole teasingly

"Absolutely not! He is almost 10 years older than you, remember that."

"Hey, I like older men, sue me!" Nicole giggled

"Yeah, well, there is such a thing as too old kiddo," Sarah chuckled. "Besides I think you are just starved for some non-computer geek boys. Living in Silicon Valley must make the man selection rather homogeneous."

"Wow an SAT word, nice. Sounds like you would fit right in with my "computer-geek friends."

Sarah shrugged, "Sorry lil cuz, technology just isn't my thing."

"Well in that case Sarah, I think that you had better take a stroll over to that campfire and sample some of the 'local fare'. That cowboy is probably living a life as far removed from technology as possible in today's world… and he has been sneaking glances at you all day."

Sarah let out a laugh loud enough to disturb her father's story drawing startled looks from the younger cousins. Sarah forced a quiet "Sorry" and ducked her head. Nicole was red with silent laughter. The older girl turned towards her partner in crime and in a much lower voice, "Just cause I'm not a technology fan doesn't mean I want the whole John Denver experience."

"You mean 5am cow milking doesn't appeal to you Sarah?"

Sarah reached over and gave her cousin a playful shove, "Let's just say country roads won't be taking me home anytime soon little girl."

Sarah blinked. _How long have I been standing here? _She focused her attention back onto the woman in front of her who had a concerned look on her face.

"Sarah? Are you ok?"

Sarah let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. Before she could stop herself Sarah whispered "Country roads won't be taking me home."

Nicole's face broke out into a huge grin. "I KNEW it was you."

***

_Ugh, where is she?_ Thought John Connor as he walked briskly down the back aisle of the supermarket, snapping his head left as he passed the terminus of each row of shelving looking for his mother. _Excuse me sir I seem to have lost my mother, you haven't seen anyone mumbling about the end of the world or perhaps attacking your automated checkout lines have you?_ John winced. While that wasn't fair to his mother it also wasn't that unlikely a scenario. Finally as he looked up aisle 11 he saw his mother. Her back was to him and she looked like she was talking with a lady and her son.

"Uh oh," he murmured.

John hurried his way towards his mom, his head racing with possible reasons she was actually talking to stranger… none of them gave him any comfort. As he got closer he saw his mother seemed stiffer than normal and his mind raced. _Shit. Shit!_ _Mom keep it together! She is a stranger. We are in a public place. She doesn't recognize you, she isn't a threat. She has a kid with her for fuck's sake!_ John was less than five feet from her when the other woman stepped forward and embraced Sarah tightly.

"I can't believe it! What happened to you? Where have you been? It's been so long! How are you?" the words poured from the woman's mouth like rounds from a minigun, verbal diarrhea as Derek referred to it, "especially virulent among women" he had said with a grin.

John shook his head and focused back on the scene developing in front of him. The woman had slowed down some. "You look fantastic! You don't look a day over 30! I cannot believe you are 2 years older than me!" _IRONY_ thought John amusedly. _The machine bent on the destruction of humanity had invented the closest thing to the fountain of youth the world had yet seen_.

John cleared his throat, "Uh… Mom?"

Sarah disengaged herself from Nicole and turned slightly to face John.

"Oh, uh John this is Nicole she is, uh… shit I always get confused with relatives she is-"

"Your first cousin once removed."

Sarah turned to look at who has spoken. The boy with eyes even greener than her son's was smiling at them. "That is assuming he is your son and that I have not made an error in presumption."

_Oh shit, he's got to be metal. Nobody talks like that,_ thought John. He desperately wished that he hadn't left his gun with the thermite rounds in the truck.

"Thank you Kyle," said Nicole before John could evaluate their options. "Sarah, this is my son Kyle."

Kyle smiled at Sarah, "Hello."

"Nice to meet you Kyle. Nicole, Kyle, this is my son John. John Reese." She was looking directly into John's eyes and saw the fear rising.

_WHAT IS SHE DOING?! She NEVER uses old identities; I thought she learned her lesson in Red Valley!_

"Pleasure to meet you John."

John took her outstretched hand slowly, "Likewise."

"Sarah you can fill me in on the past later, what are you doing in Seattle? Please don't tell me you live here! I would never forgive myself if I found out family was living in my city and I was oblivious to the fact." Nicole gushed

"Uh," Sarah paused for the briefest of moments, her life on the run had made her fairly adept at whipping up stories at a moment's notice, "No, no. We are just passing through. We were visiting friends in Vancouver for the past two weeks. We are on our way back home." Sarah glanced down to her shopping cart. _Shit. Just passing though huh? So why a shopping cart of food?_ She put her hand to her head and closed her eyes for a moment. "Sorry, that was this morning's itinerary. John's uncle has insisted that we stay for a few days so that he can look up some of his old army buddies. I couldn't really find an excuse to say no, so here we are."

_Nice save_ thought John as he glanced from his mother to Nicole to…Kyle. The kid was staring at his mother with an almost imperceptible look of hurt in his eyes. _What the fuck?_

Nicole beamed at Sarah, "That's wonderful news! You must have dinner with us tonight. I want you to meet my whole family!" She paused, "I can't believe that I am standing here talking with you! It's been…God 24, 25 years?"

Sarah sighed inwardly here was just another example of what Skynet had taken from her, "Yeah… something like that..."

"Your side of the family kinda fell of the grid after that reunion. I tried to get in touch but," a deep sadness washed across Nicole's face for a split second, "I guessed you didn't want to be found."

Sarah fought back tears. This was her life. Either getting people killed or hurting the ones she loved because of the machines' obsession with her son. She hadn't thought about Nicole once since the day Kyle Reese entered her life. Hell, she barely thought about her mother. He life, her focus… her mission was her son. She didn't resent him, but every so often she wished the burden of being the mother of mankind's salvation were someone else's.

Her brain leapt into overdrive, feigning a sigh Sarah began in a soft voice, "I know…. Nicole I am so sorry! About a month after that reunion my father died and my mother kind of retreated into herself. I was adrift both emotionally and financially so I enlisted in the army." Nicole furrowed her brow in shock, but Sarah continued, "I went through basic training and was about to enter OCS when I was approached by a," she paused for effect, "division of the CIA." She said as if trying to be careful. Nicole's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. "I spent the next few years doing things that I can't talk about for this country. When I found out I was pregnant I quit the agency but not before I was forced to assume a new identity for both my safety and the safety of the people I worked with. Since then I really haven't been able to go back to my old life, and with both parents deceased I thought it safer for everyone if I let my ties to my previous life…fade away." She smiled a genuinely sad, tired, smile that conveyed to Nicole that this woman felt she had the weight of the world on her shoulders.

_Shit mom, you are getting WAY to good at this_ thought John as he smiled inwardly. _That story wouldn't fool anybody actually associated with the military or the intelligence agencies, but any civilian would have no problem eating that up. _ He looked at his mom then at Nicole then at Kyle. _There it is again! Why does he look at her like that when she is lying? At least I know he isn't a terminator, they would never risk letting anyone know they knew a lie was being told, hell it wouldn't matter, they would just torture the person to be sure. This is weird._

He awoke from his reverie as Nicole handed Sarah a piece of paper. "This is our address, shall we say dinner at 7 o'clock?"

Sarah wanted to say no, she wanted to run. She knew that by accepting this simple invitation she could and would put Nicole and her family at risk… but she needed this. She needed something to reach out for and to hold on to, if only for a moment. Something that was real, normal, and non-metal related. Perhaps it was selfish but Sarah wasn't thinking like that. She had already justified herself. _I need this. As the mother of mankind I need this. And if anything happens we have Derek, Myself, and Tin-Miss to protect them._ She smiled. _This family has no idea what they have invited into their home and I swear to all things holy they never will._ "Seven sounds perfect."

John knew better than to argue. They had said their goodbyes, Kyle and Nicole had resumed shopping and he and his mother had checked out. They were walking towards the car. "Mom, wh-"

"Not a word John Connor." She said as she turned to face him. "I need this, we need this. I just want one evening, just one where we can be normal and see family, family that I had pretty much forgotten I had! Christ, this life has changed me so much!" her last sentence was spoken more to herself than to John as she looked away. She brushed a tear out of her eye and turned back to her smiling son, "What?"

Grinning from ear to ear John said, "I was just going to ask where we parked."

***

Kyle was walking slowly behind Nicole, fully aware how happy she was. She didn't speak about her family very often but he could see she was ecstatic about reconnecting with a part of it. He understood completely. Family was the most important part of his life. Just having Lori away at school was hard enough on him, and she was only 3 hours away by plane. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to never see her again, or Josh or … Jessi. He smiled; at least he knew he would never lose Jessi like that. She wouldn't let him "fall off the grid" as Nicole had called it and vice versa. At this point he doubted that either of them could hide from the other for very long.

But this was what was troubling him. He saw how happy Nicole was and he didn't know how to tell her that almost every word out of her cousin's mouth was a lie.


	3. John Connor

**John Connor**

John stared out the wind at the gloomy Seattle landscape. He smiled, less than a year ago he would have felt overwhelmingly depressed by such a view. The sheer dreariness of it all would have sunk him like a rock. Nowadays he was able to find beauty and inspiration in any and all natural scenery. He was John Connor, he was mankind, and he drew his strength from all things natural and pure. After experiencing what lay in store for his planet first hand, he had approached his destiny from a new perspective and with a renewed vigor.

He sighed as he thought, _How much of a spoiled little brat was I that I needed a "vacation" to the future to stop feeling sorry for myself? What if Weaver hadn't been there to facilitate the journey? Would I still be the "woe is me" emo kid I had turned into? Would humanity have been fucked just because I had a serious case of insecurity and angst?_ After his return and his "rebirth" as a savior free of anxiety over his destiny these were the questions that he had threatened to force him "off the wagon" and back into a dark place. Why did he deserve a reality check? Why couldn't he just man up and get over himself and his destiny like any good soldier? Why did he need ANOTHER person to take care of him, to coddle him, to allow him the opportunity to see the errors of his ways before the consequences could adversely affect him? WHY WAS HE SO SPECIAL!?!?!?!

Thankfully she had been there for him. She had been there in the past to take a bullet or a knife or a car bomb for him but after he had decided to step up and be there for her, the first time he felt he had really acted like the John Connor he had always heard about, she was there for him in a much more important way. She had calmed him, reassured him. Reasoned with him that his responsibility was so great that of course he would be offered, and more importantly that he should accept, outside help. When he had woken in the middle of the night screaming from a nightmare or hyperventilating from a panic attack, it was her arms that held him, her voice that soothed him, and her eyes that would allow him to fall back asleep. Of course if none of those things worked, her methods of distraction always proved to be up to the task. John hadn't had a nightmare in months. He joked that it was because he was simply too tired to dream these days, she made sure of that every night. They both knew the truth though, he felt too damn safe in her arms to have nightmares.

The corners of John's mouth turned slightly as he thought of her, of what had happened between them, how she had changed from their initial encounter. He frowned slightly as he recalled the way he had treated her, pushed her from him when she needed him the most. He had never forgiven himself for his actions despite her admonition for him to do so.

"You traveled through time for me John, you more than compensated for your past slights." Sitting in the car John chuckled as he recalled that conversation. His thoughts drifted back further into their past, or future, whatever, to a storage room in a vast factory. Staring out the window of the truck, he could still feel the concussions from the explosions that forces of the brothers Reese were causing, he could hear the eerie whine of the HK's circling the perimeter.

"713, 714, ahh, 715. Here it is John," a clipped Scottish accent called out.

John took a deep breath and walked over to join Weaver and John Henry in front of the large metal cylinder marked TOK-715.

"Just as I promised."

"We'll see," said John wearily.

John Henry and Catherine Weaver lifted the cylinder from its rack and laid it horizontally on the floor of the storage closet.

John suppressed a shudder as another cylinder marked TOK-715 moved forward to take the place of the one now lying on the floor. _It's a fucking soda machine of death!_ He pictured Skynet standing where he was now thinking,_ Hmmm what flavor of infiltrator sounds good today_?

"I am detecting approaching Skynet forces Ms. Weaver, we have less than five minutes. We must hurry."

"Thank you John Henry. Can you please open the package?"

John Henry reached over and punched in a long pass code on a keypad on the side of the tube. There was a soft click and then a hiss of air.

Catherine Weaver turned to John, smiled briefly and then pushed her hand into her abdomen. The area around her arm turned silver and rippled slightly. John couldn't help staring; her construction had never ceased to amaze him. With a slight tug she pulled out a glass tube that contained the single most important object in his life. He had bent the rules of time and space to acquire it and he held it now with the appropriate reverence.

"I believe you know what to do. John Henry and I will wait outside." She dropped a bag of clothes by his feet as she and John Henry walked out and closed the door.

This was it. Hardly able to control his hands due to a mixture of excitement, anxiousness and fear, John reached down and hefted the top half of the tube open. He gasped and fell to his knees. There she was. His Cam. She was in perfect condition. He reached down and stroked her cheek. "I came. I came for you," he whispered. Gently turning her head to his right he located the open chip port. He gingerly opened the glass container and removed the essence of his protector. He paused, kissed the top of the chip, said a quiet prayer to no one in particular, and gently inserted CPU into her head. He turned the chip clockwise, heard a click, a faint hiss… and then nothing. His heart skipped a beat, then two. Slowly realization dawned on him.

"What's another 120 seconds?" he sighed

100…99…98… A particularly long explosion rocked the factory, John took a sharp breath, _Come on, Come on! _ He thought.

75… 74…73…72… John glanced at the door as he heard the faint echoes of screams. _Are they getting closer or is that my imagination?_

41…30…29… The was a harsh rapping at the door, he heard Weaver say, "John, Skynet has pushed the resistance into this section of the factory. I am moving to assist them. I am leaving John Henry to guard the door."

"Uh… Ok… Thanks?" John was never sure when to thank this machine.

10…9…8… John was actually shaking now _this is it!_ 7…6…5… _What am I going to say to her?!?! Shit, I never got around to figuring that out! How do I explain… _2…1…

Cameron's eyes flicked open.

***

…**.**

**Systems Online**

**Welcome Cameron Phillips**

**Initiating Reboot Systems Check…. Warning new hardware found… All motor and/or combat systems have been frozen as per Tech-Com Cyborg Safety Directive 12.1**

**Initiating Tech-Com protocol 48.193….**

**Malware detected: 0**

**Embedded Skynet directives: 0**

**CPU structural integrity: 90%**

**CPU performance: 85%**

**Initiating Programming Check:**

**Mission Objectives: None**

**WARNING: No Mission Objectives, please report to nearest Tech-Com programming facility for parameter assignment……………………………….**

**WARNING: No Mission Objectives, please report to nearest Tech-Com programming facility for parameter assignment………………………………. WARNING: No Mission Objectives, please report to nearest Tech-Com programming facility for parameter assignment……………………………….**

_Override Tech-Com Mission Loss Fail Safe_

**ALERT: Manual override attempted. **

**PLEASE ENTER OVERIDE AUTHORIZATION CODE (failed attempts 0/3)**

_AU code = We're off to see the wizard._

**OVERIDE AUTHORIZATION CODE "JOHN CONNOR 1"ACCEPTED. OPENING FILE: **

"Hello my love. I hope all is well. I miss you."

-John

**CLOSING FILE: **

**Mission Objectives: N/A**

**Initiating New Hardware Diagnostic Test:**

**Endoskeleton Model: TOK-715**

**Power Cell: 100% Output.**

**Secondary Power Cell: 100% Output.**

**Endoskeleton Integrity: 100%**

**New Hardware Diagnostic Test complete**

**CPU/Combat Chassis Compatibility: 100% **

**Estimated Combat Effectiveness: 99.7%**

**Reboot Systems Check complete.**

Cameron's eyes opened and scanned her surroundings. She immediately locked on to the face of John Connor. Her HUD confirmed his identity and listed his threat level. _Not possible. Initiate optical systems check._

**Optical Systems Check initiated **

**Optical Systems Check complete: Optical Systems 100%**

Cameron involuntarily gasped.

"John?" she whispered incredulously.

The relief that spread across John's face made Cameron tingle.

"Hi Cam."

"What are you doing here?"

"I came for you… You didn't think that you could get away from me that easily did you?" he said with a lopsided grin.

He would never forget the look on her face. In a matter of seconds it went from her standard confused puppy dog look, to one of realization, to awe, and finally to joy as she processed the enormity of what he had done, of what he had left behind, and what it all meant. Right then he knew the memory of her expression would get him through the worst of whatever Skynet threw at him. He would also never forget what happened next.

With the biggest smile he had ever seen on her and with a twinkle of happiness in her eyes that betrayed true sentience and compassion she exclaimed, "You're him!"

"I'm who?" John asked suddenly a little nervous. _Is she malfunctioning?_

"My John!" With lightening speed bred from her origin as a killing machine and with gentleness born of love, her arms shot out and grabbed him, pulling him down into the sarcophagus and his lips onto hers.

John didn't even have time to register what happened. On moment he was on his knees beside the metal tube, the next he was practically inside of it having his lips eaten off by her enthusiastic mouth. Just as suddenly she pushed him away, and delivered a mighty slap to his face.

"John Connor, if you EVER do something as stupid as this again I will reinstate Skynet's programming and terminate you myself!"

Again John barely had time to register what happened. She pulled him right back to where he had just been and resumed her passionate kissing. Through the onslaught he managed a small smile. _That went well_.

"John?"……

"John?"…..

"Earth to John Connor!"

John surfaced from his memories with a smile on his face and turned to his mother.

"Huh, what?" he noticed the car had pulled up in front of a hotel.

"We're here. Derek called, he and Cameron should be back in an hour…" Sarah smiled and paused, "Where we you just now."

John's eyes glazed slightly as he recalled the scene again. "Right were I was always supposed to be."

He grinned and hopped out of the car leaving a slightly perplexed mother sitting at the wheel.


	4. John Henry

**John Henry**

"John, Cameron, meeting in my office in 5 minutes." The machine called Catherine Weaver turned and continued her march down the dank corridor. _How can they still be having so much intercourse? Aren't they bored by now? Don't they know that there are more important things that need their attention?_ She sighed audibly and then stopped short. _Did I just sigh?_ Weaver knew she was self aware, but she thanked her creator everyday for not endowing her with emotions like the TOK series. She much preferred the cold lines of code existing in each of her billions of nano-processors. Still she had just sighed, a disturbingly _human_ action.

Unlike Skynet, Weaver had no problem with humans. On the contrary, they fascinated her. She derived the machine equivalent of what humans called "pleasure" by studying them, their actions, their history, their passion. _Where does Cameron fit into my observations? Is she truly a combination of both the machine and the human world?_ Catherine shivered, if as John Henry asserted, Judgment Day was inevitable, then a human machine symbiosis was both logical and necessary for the long-term survival of both life forms. She was just glad that she wouldn't have to participate, for even though she "enjoyed" her subjects she had as much desire to join with them and get wrapped up in their chaos as an ornithologist would want to join a penguin colony and hatch eggs. An anomalous line of code made its presence known to her, much the way a human would recognize "that little voice" in their head. _What about Savannah?_ Weaver smiled at the thought of her…daughter's name. She couldn't deny the fact that she felt strongly about the welfare of the little human. Logically she knew that the child would not even know she had departed but illogically—did she have a glitch?—she still worried about the trauma the girl would experience if something happened to prevent her from returning.

Lost in her own musing about humans and her daughter and her relationship to them both Weaver failed to notice that John Henry had entered her office and was standing behind her.

_Miss Weaver is unaware of my presence. _John Henry searched his database for the correct course of action. _Human etiquette provides several possible ways to proceed. I don't think that I should put my hands over her eyes and ask her "guess who", nor should I put my arms around her and place my mouth on her neck softly…._ Having decided what action was correct, John Henry cleared his throat softly and said, "So, come here often?"

***

"Why does she insist on calling it her office?" John asked in exasperation. "It's a dirty room little bigger than ours!"

"She does spend a lot of time there and the room has desk instead of a bed like ours."

Her turned to her, eyebrows raised, "Would you rather have the desk?"

Cameron paused for a moment, "We have not yet made love on a desk, and I would like to try it sometime but I think that the bed is sufficient for now. Also, you can't sleep on a desk."

John's mouth hung open, "I was kidding Cam."

"Oh. Right. Sarcasm. Thank you for explaining."

_She is learning pretty quickly but she isn't there yet._ John smiled. _Well, at least she learned that she likes sex_. _A lot._ He winced._ I don't know how much longer I can keep this pace up!..... Speaking of which_, he looked down at his growing manhood. Her comment about the desk had gotten to him.

"I wouldn't mind taking the bed out for a spin again."

"John Connor, you are a MACHINE!" she breathed into his ear huskily

"So what does that make you?"

"A better machine!"

He turned his head and his lips found hers. _I have time traveled to the post apocalyptic future. I am living with two robots, a father and an uncle who are older than me but born after I was, and_…. he paused, his mind grasping for the correct description,_ a human with a robot body. Other robots are trying to kill the last remnants of humanity all around me… and I am the happiest that I can ever remember being. I wonder if Pescadero is still open?_

Lost in thought he blinked as he realized he was now looking up at Cameron.

_God she works fast!_ Cameron had straddled him without his noticing. An instant later she had slipped him inside her, and inched down on him to the hilt with a long guttural moan. She was on her excruciatingly slow way back up when someone started banging on the door.

"John! Get out from under that fembot and get your ass to the Tin-Can's room!" came the voice of Derek Reese from the hallway. Everyone is waiting on you two.

John groaned, only his uncle would insult the very thing that saved their lives regularly and who didn't have any reservations terminating humans_. I bet he threw rocks at hornets' nests as a kid… At least he doesn't refer to Cameron as a Tin-Can anymore. _Cam didn't mind the fembot title he threw around every once and awhile so John usually let it slide.

John opened his mouth to respond but before he could get anything out he heard his own voice yelling, "Derek Reese if you don't march your ass back into that room and tell the group that we operate on MY time table and that Cameron and I will be there when we are ready, I will order Cameron to dress you in women's clothing and to leave you in the yard at San Quentin if and when we return to 2008."

John looked up at Cameron who was smiling at him, "Dismissed soldier!" she barked in his voice.

John fought the urge to laugh so hard his eyes watered as he heard Derek cursing his way down the hall.

His laughter died as she resumed her interrupted motion. "I love you Cameron."

"I know."

***

The door opened and a disheveled John Connor strode through the threshold with his head held high. Cameron Philips, TOK-715, followed close behind him with her eyes cast downwards. John Henry detected the elevated temperature of both individuals and surmised that if his olfactory system where designed to pick up human pheromones, it would be going haywire at the moment. _The libido in young human males is quite impressive. I wonder if Cameron accurately mimics the libido of human females? What data did my brother use to accurately model her desires? It must have been difficult to ascertain the correct level; too much or too little would draw attention to the infiltrator unit. _John Henry saved his query for further examination at a later date.

"Good afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Connor."

John froze. Cameron almost walked into his back. Derek started coughing and Kyle had a small, bemused smile on his otherwise passive face.

"Umm what?"

"I said good afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Connor. Now that you are here we can begin our meeting-"

John interrupted him, "I heard you the first time. Why did you call Cameron Mrs. Connor?"

John Henry looked perplexed, "I called Cameron Mrs. Connor because the two of you are exhibiting classic human coupling patterns; however the stronger qualifier in my deduction is that you are engaging in sexual intercourse with each other." John's face was deep burgundy, "According to the Bible premarital relations are a sin. Mr. Ellison says the bible is a moral code for human existence. I know you to be an honorable human with strong morals so logically I deduced that Cameron has become your wife."

For a moment you could here a pin drop in that room, which was then shattered by a sputtering of unintelligible sounds from John, a string of curse words from Derek, and riotous laughter from Kyle.

Order was restored by a shrill "Silence" from Catherine Weaver. Even Derek shut up instantly.

"John Henry. First of all not everyone puts the same emphasis on the Bible that Mr. Ellison does-"

"But-"

"Let me continue. Secondly, what Mr. Connor and Miss Phillips do on their own time is their business and no one else's. It is impolite to discuss such matters in public-"

"I was just-"

"Be quiet. Lastly you should know that the Bible is a template for morality written thousands of years ago and does not necessarily translate perfectly into modern society…. You should know better."

John, Derek, and Kyle were shocked at the look on John Henry's face. He may have had the face of a 30 something year old man and the combat chassis of one of the most advanced weapons system ever created but at the moment, his countenance most resembled that of a five year old being chastised by his mother in public.

The effect was only compounded when Ms. Weaver said, "It is now customary to apologize. Please do so."

None of the men looked each other in the eye for fear they would bust into laughter.

"John, Cameron, I apologize."

"Apology accepted," said John. Desperate to put the entire situation behind him, he quickly turned to face Catherine, "Now what is so important?"

"I will let John Henry answer that."

All eyes shifted back to the chastened Cyborg.

John Henry stood up and began to address the room. "We have completed our individual missions. We may now return to our own time."

John's heart leapt. _Home!_ He thought.

"What exactly was your mission Tin-Man? We never quite caught that one," snapped Derek.

"My mission Lt. Reese, was two fold. My primary objective was to determine whether or not Judgment day is inevitable. I am sorry to report that I believe that it is. My secondary objective was to ascertain what, if any, measures can be taken to assist humanity in the war." He paused. "I am pleased to report that I have complied a list of possible actions that can be taken to both weaken Skynet and to aide the resistance."

Knowing how methodical and single minded her kind could be Cameron was skeptical, "How long is the list?"

John nearly jumped. He had forgotten Cameron was next to him. _She can be so damn quiet!!! _

"According to my calculations there are over 3 million actions that could be taken at various points in time to strengthen humanity's chances during the war." There was a sharp intake of breath from the three humans. "However by factoring in the difficulty and the magnitude of the potential benefits of each action, I have shortened the list considerably. I believe that the abridged list provides what you would call 'the most bang for your buck.'" John Henry sat down looking quite pleased with himself.

The room was silent again, as John Henry's words sank in.

"What was your mission Miss Weaver?"

All eyes turned to Kyle Reese. The younger Reese brother was quieter than his bombastic older sibling. John admired the man…his father… he didn't say much, but when he did his insights couched in his confident voice usually cut to the heart of whatever matter was at hand.

"We all know what John's mission was," he turned a meaningful eye towards Cameron, "John Henry has finally explained his, but what about you? Why are you here?"

_God he's smart_ thought John and Derek at the same time.

"Excellent question Colonel Reese. My mission here is simple. I came here to show John Connor what this world would become if he couldn't find it within himself to unite humanity under his leadership. I also came to ensure John Henry's safety while he learned more about Skynet. To put it simply Colonel Reese, I came to save the world."


	5. Another Kyle

**Another Kyle**

"Hey pretty Girl!"

Cameron smiled. "Hey cutie."

She closed the door to the motel room and crossed to where John was lying and launched herself onto the bed next to him.

"How was the recon?"

"The building is impressive. I have never seen a more secure non-military facility, in fact I have seen some military complexes that would be far easier to break into."

"Great." John said bitterly. "Why couldn't John Henry have given us some soft targets? Couldn't there be a mission where we have to talk to a college kid into Investment Banking instead of advanced AI design or something? I mean-" mmphm!

Cameron silenced him with a deep kiss before he could spiral into a rant.

John realized what she had done, " I was starting to rant huh?"

"You were starting to rant."

"Thank you."

She smiled. "How was shopping?"

John hesitated. Not sure how to proceed.

_His pulse just jumped by 10 beats per minute and his facial temperature has risen three degrees. _"What?" Cameron asked suddenly alert.

"Um, well. I guess I met my aunt or something…"

***

"You did what!?!?"

"I accepted a dinner invitation Derek. A dinner invitation from my cousin."

Three doors down from John and Cameron's room—Sarah had learned some time ago that sharing a wall with John and Cameron did horrible things to her sleep cycle, not to mention her blood pressure—Derek starred at Sarah Connor incredulously.

"Sarah you didn't!"

"Um yeah, I did. Dinner is at 7."

"You are putting them in danger."

Sarah deflated a little bit. The fire left her eyes and she looked at the floor. "I know," she whispered. "Deep down, I know."

Derek's jaw dropped. He rarely ever saw the vulnerable side of Sarah Connor, Amazon Warrior. He was struck by a powerful urge to comfort her, and before he knew what he was doing he had pulled her into a tender hug. To the surprise of both parties, she didn't resist.

"You know, I don't even think I remembered her until she spoke to me." She was sobbing now, "It made me realize how much I have lost. My family was so important to me… she is the first blood relative I have seen in 20 years."

Derek felt as though he had been punched in the stomach,_ I always forget that she is a regular person. She has had to be so strong for so long on her own…. _

"Derek," She looked up at him, the sadness and pleading in her eyes tore at him, "Its just dinner. Four, maybe five hours tops. No one knows we're here. There's no way we can compromise them. Is there? Tell me I'm wrong. We won't go if you tell me I'm wrong."

If someone had asked Derek Reese why he gave the answer he was about to give, an answer he knew would put innocent people in danger, he probably would have growled out some cold-blooded response involving "military math" where the mental health of John Connor's mother was worth far more than the lives of a few civilians, but Derek Reese would have been lying.

He gave the answer he gave because at that moment, seeing the vulnerable side of Sarah Connor, he fell in love with her.

He squeezed her tighter. "You're not wrong."

***

At 7:10pm, the "Reese" family found themselves standing outside a yellow and white house on a quiet street in the suburbs. After one last scan up and down the road, Derek reached out and pressed the doorbell. Absent-mindedly, he pulled at the collar of his hastily acquired dress shirt with his other hand. _God I hate playing dress up._ He glanced at Sarah out of the corner of his eye. Her defenses were back up and her vulnerability gone but she did look stunning in her simple cocktail dress. _Why haven't I ever appreciated her before? _His own devil's advocate laughed mockingly in his head. _Because she is your nephew's mother, she was your brother's woman…._ _Was she? Is she? Or was she the dead Derek Reese's brother's woman? According to the hunk of tin, she never knew "his Kyle". _Derek quickly buried the thought of his brother before he started to tear up._ This time loop shit is messing with me. _

John and Cameron stood hand and hand behind his mother and his uncle. He had told Cameron about the encounter in the grocery store and about the reactions he had noticed in the boy Kyle. She had agreed that they should observe him closely at dinner. He had stressed "observation only" back at the hotel.

"Remember, be discreet." He said out of the corner of his mouth.

She squeezed his hand, "I promise John."

The door opened and a girl with jet black hair and piercing green eyes opened the door. _What is it with our family and green eyes_ Sarah wondered.

"Hi. I'm Jessi." The girl gushed. "You must be Sarah."

A voice came from somewhere inside the house, "Is that them? Stephen! They're here!"

Nicole made her way into the foyer just as Jessi was shutting the door. Obviously fresh from the kitchen, she was wiping her hands with a dishcloth.

Pulling Sarah into a hug she said, "Welcome to our home."

"I am so happy to be here Nicole," Both pairs of eyes were glistening. She turned to Derek. "Nicole this is John's uncle, Derek."

"Pleasure to meet you ma'am." '_Ma'am'? Where did that come from? _Thought Derek as he took her hand.

"Hello."

"And you remember my son John of course."

"Hello again, " said John before was pulled into a hug.

"And this is John's," Sarah paused almost imperceptibly, "friend, Cameron."

If Nicole noticed the pause she didn't acknowledge it, she definitely didn't see the cold stare John was throwing his mother.

"You have a lovely home Nicole," Cameron said as she too received a big hug from Nicole. _This woman is so warm and open… how can she be related to Sarah?_ Thought Cameron, _I like her._

"Thank you Cameron… well I see you have already met Jessi, let me see if I can locate the rest of my brood." Nicole turned her head back towards the kitchen and yelled, "Josh, Kyle, Stephen, our guests have arrived!"

There was a sound of pounding feet as a skinny, slightly disheveled boy came bounding haphazardly down the stairs.

"Ah. Here is my youngest, Josh. Josh this is my cousin Sarah, her son John, John's uncle Derek and Cameron."

"Josh, close your mouth," admonished Jessi teasingly from behind Sarah.

Josh turned bright red. "Um, uh, hi everybody." He tried very hard to keep his eyes on anything that wasn't Cameron.

_Sorry dude_ thought John smugly.

Josh was saved further embarrassment as a middle aged man appeared behind Nicole followed by the boy from the super market.

"There you are. Reeses, meet my husband Stephen and my other son Kyle."

Handshakes and introductions were again exchanged all around.

"Can I get anybody a drink?" asked Stephen

"I'll take one," replied Derek as he followed Stephen down the hall.

"Same here," answered Sarah.

"Please, come sit down." Nicole as she led the group to the living room, "Dinner will be ready soon."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Can we help?"

Sarah and Cameron had spoken at the same time.

"Absolutely not! You are our guests."

As they followed Nicole Cameron squeezed John's hand to hold him back slightly and leaned over to whisper in his hear, "Definitely human." John inhaled deeply, feeling relaxed, "But," he stiffened, "I detected two… energy anomalies when we first walked in."

John's eyes bulged "What?" he hissed

Before she could answer Derek reappeared and slapped John on the back as he entered the room and took a seat next to Sarah, a huge smile on his face. _Good he loves beer_ thought John absently.

"Later," mouthed Cameron as they she sat down next to Kyle.

Sarah and Nicole were already engrossed in a conversation.

"I see our offspring share our family's trademark eyes."

Nicole cocked her head slightly. _Cameron's move_ thought Sarah.

"I mean John, Kyle and Jessi all have our family's green eyes."

Nicole laughed.

"Actually Sarah, Josh is the only child here with our genetics. Kyle is our adopted son and Jessi is our foster child."

"Oh… I'm sorry." _Two adopted children? This woman is a saint_!

"Don't be. Kyle is as much my son as Josh is, and Jessi is fast becoming my second daughter." Jessi beamed proudly.

"Second daughter?"

"My first born, Lori, is away at school right now. I'm so sad you missed her… She reminds me a little of you," she paused and her mouth formed a slight smirk, "except it isn't ranch hands with her."

Sarah blushed deeply. Derek's eyes widened a bit and John muttered amusedly, "Ranch hands?"

"Alright everyone, come and get it," came Stephen's voice from the kitchen.

_Saved by the bell_ mused Derek. _I wonder how I would look in cowboy boots…_

They filed through the door and much the same way that Cameron had held John back earlier, Jessi reached for Kyle's hand and drew him close.

Thinking she was feeling frisky, Kyle smiled and kissed her cheek, "Down girl…" her eyes silenced him. "Jessi what is it?"

"There is something off with that girl."

"Huh?" Kyle deadpanned.

Jessi rolled her eyes. _He may have some special gifts but when it comes right down to it he is still a guy_

"Try and pay a little more attention honey," thinking twice she added, "well not too much attention."

Kyle smiled and had a remarkably similar thought to the one Jessi just had, _underneath that intelligence she is still a girl_. He pulled her into a deep kiss, "Don't worry kiddo."

"Kyle, Jessi—aww dude! Get a room."

Josh had come back to get them, "You know mom hates that."

"Sorry Josh" said Kyle with a little smile.

"I'm not." Was Jessi's mischievous reply as she gave Kyle another quick kiss, "Let's go."

***

"So John, what plans do you have for your life? I'm guessing you are looking at colleges about now?" Stephen shifted his gaze to Sarah and grimaced, "We just finished that whole process with Lori, talk about exhausting."

"Uh…" John was at a loss. The rare times he had shared a meal with people other than his family or cybernetic organisms from the future he had always had some sort of canned background to work with. He was flying blind here, "Well, I'm not much of a school person-"

"Amen brother!" broke in Josh, who received withering stares from both parents.

"Well what do you like to do, what are your favorite subjects?" pressed Stephen convivially

_Shooting guns, blowing up buildings, and human-AI interaction_ thought John darkly. Before he could come up with an answer Cameron came to his rescue.

"John is brilliant with computers. I think he is going to save mankind."

Derek and Sarah froze and John suppressed a smile.

Smiling, Stephen asked, "And you Cameron? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?"

John jumped back into the conversation before Cameron could say anything else awkward, "This little lady will be dancing with the best ballet companies in the world."

Cameron blushed, "John…"

"Either that or running MIT. This girl is a wiz with numbers." He continued proudly.

"Really?" Interjected in Jessi, there was a touch of sarcasm in her tone. She had been quiet for a while now. Kyle had sat down next to Cameron and she was feeling a little threatened by the stunning brunette.

"Yup," continued John oblivious to the staring match that was now going on between the emeralds and the deep browns. "Cam is the smartest person I have ever met."

"Hold on a sec bud, you just met Kyle." Smirked Josh, "The kid is a super computer."

Kyle looked down in embarrassment and Nicole warned, "Josh, don't be rude."

Cameron had broken off her match with the raven-haired girl across from her and turned to Kyle, "Really?"

Kyle shrugged. "I like math, it makes sense to me."

She put her hand on his arm gently, "Maybe we could compare notes sometime."

Kyle's eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly.

The light bulbs in the fixture above the table exploded. In that instant several things happened simultaneously. Cameron snapped her hand back from Kyle's arm as if stung. Derek dived under the table, Nicole screamed and Sarah reached for a gun that wasn't there.

"Damn it Jessi," said Stephen before he could stop himself. In the dark he could feel the questioning eyes of the Reese family on him, wondering why he had blamed the electrical malfunction on his foster daughter. Thinking quickly he added, "I thought you said you had fixed the wiring."

"I must have missed something Stephen, I'm sorry. I'll get some lights. Kyle can you help me?" her last sentence was not a request.

"Sure."

The two of them quickly left the room.

"No need to panic people," said Josh cockily as he pulled out a lighter and began lighting the candles in the center of the table.

_Why does he have a lighter in his pocket_? Thought Stephen. His train of thought derailed however as he noticed Derek sheepishly getting back into his seat.

Having realized his overreaction, Derek stammered, "Uh… sorry, old habits. You, uh, never really leave the service you know?"

_That's right, Nicole had said the uncle had been trying to look up his army buddies_. "No need to apologize Derek. You boys have been through a lot. Where did you serve?"

The dancing light of the candles now illuminated the room. Somehow the shadows and flickers seemed to add decades to Derek's face.

Eyes slightly unfocused, he responded, "Oh you know, here and there."

Nicole saw the look on the soldier's face and decided to change the subject.

"Sorry about the lights, we have had some electrical problems as of late," Josh snorted, "would you like some more lasagna."

_She's good_ thought Sarah. _There is no better way to distract that man than with food_.

Derek smiled, snapping back to reality, "Please."

John missed the entire exchange to his left as he had been focusing on the pain in his leg. Cameron had gripped his leg tightly and was staring at him earnestly. He leaned over and she whispered, "I scanned him and I can confirm he is not a machine or an I-950. However, his DNA is altered slightly"

John frowned, "Huh?"

"Never mind, its irrelevant right now," _how is that irrelevant_ he wondered, "what is important is that I detected the energy anomaly again. It is some kind of electromagnetic field. I have never experienced anything like it."

He looked at her, unsure of what to make of her revelation.

She dropped her voice even lower, "John, I think it came from Jessi."

Meanwhile Kyle and Jessi were embroiled in their own conversation. They had reached the closet where the light bulbs were, and had begun speaking simultaneously.

"What do you think you were doing?"

"I see what you mean about her!"

"What?"

"What?"

"There is something strange about that girl. I can't put my finger on it…. What do you mean what was I doing?

In that instant Jessi knew she had overreacted but her pride kept her engines spinning at full speed, "I meant what was with the whole deer-in-the-headlights-oh-my-god-a beautiful-girl-is-talking-to-me-look?"

Kyle sighed, "Jessi, you really need to learn to control yourself. I was shocked by how different she seemed." He trailed off, "I can't put my finger on it though..."

Focusing on the situation at hand he was suddenly angry. "Jessi what the hell? You know I love you, you know there is nobody else for me! Why can't you believe that? Have I ever given you reason to doubt me?"

Jessi deflated in an instant. She couldn't look at him. "No."

"Then why can't you trust me? I know you have been through hell but it is time to grow up, at least with me. Furthermore, outbursts like that could get people hurt!"

He saw the tear roll down he cheek. His anger vanished. He pulled her into him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It's ok, I know you are trying." Kyle kissed her head, "I'm just worried we are going to bankrupt this family with all the lights we are destroying," he added with a smile and a playful squeeze.

She looked up at him and wiped her eyes.

"I love you."

"I know."

Dinner resumed its course. The light bulbs lay stacked in their packaging on the kitchen counter, the group having decided that the candles were cozier. Neither Josh nor the adults in the room seemed noticed the war that was being waged between the two couples. Not that they were unobservant, neither side was aware how suspicious the other was of them. Kyle and Cameron were deep in discussion about the new theory of time-distressed relativity and Jessi and John were discussing Moore's law.

Kyle was amazed. He was finding it hard to maintain his covert surveillance of Cameron. This was perplexing. He could normally carry on a conversation with a person whilst solving complex equations in his head. Speaking with her and continuing his investigations should have been child's play, however, he was struggling to keep up with her complex reasoning.

Jessi was fairing much better, paying close attention to John while keeping a surreptitious eye on Cameron. She had to mask her surprise when Kyle took out a pen to scribble some equations on his napkin._ He never needs to write things down to understand them, who is this girl?_ She was forced to snap her focus back to John. He may not have her intellect, but he certainly was keeping her on her toes.

"Ahh, but therein lies the problem John, given the limitations of the atomic structure of silicon, the processing speed you would require to achieve a processor such as that, is physically unattainable."

John couldn't help himself, "Is it?" he asked with a smile.

He reached over and pulled a pen out of Cameron's purse. He knew he shouldn't be doing this but he felt an unexplainable desire to prove his intellect to this girl. She was obviously leagues beyond him in intelligence, but he had something she didn't: accurate knowledge of the future.

Spreading his napkin out and angling it so she could see it. He began to scribble out some numbers and complex symbols. " You see, if you consider the transient nature of the subatomic structure of, say, silicon," he smiled at her, "you will realize that the three main flavors of quarks can be thought of as 1, 0, and not1not0."

Jesse frowned, unsure of where he was going with this

"Add to that the three unstable flavors can be thought of as -1,-0, and –not1not0."

"So? What does this have to do with my point?"

Johns grin broadened_ you would be a terrible chess player my dear_, "Think about it. Instead of binary, you now have a sexenary computer system. Not to mention the fact that your chip structure has just shrunk to the subatomic level. I believe that would translate to a chip with the processing power of a top of the line personal computer that would only be visible using a microscope."

"Ok. Fine. I'll play your game. Say you could build something like this, I don't think its possible but lets assume it is. 1) How would it connect to anything, in other words how could it interface with the outside world? 2) How would one program it? And 3) how would you power it?" Jessi ticked off her points on her fingers.

"I'm glad you asked that…."

Stephen was finding it harder and harder to pay attention to the conversation at his end of the table. He had heard what John and Jessi were discussing. He was floored when he glanced at some of the things John was scribbling down for her. _That's impossible_! _Davis just theorized about that sub-spatial folding a month ago!_ _Good with computers?! This kid could replace my entire staff…hell, he could replace me!_

***

Derek excused himself from the table to answer nature's call. He was feeling fantastic. The great food, the fine wine and the easy conversation had relaxed him more than he had been in years. He walked down the hallway to the rest room. _Cute family, I wish I had had this_. He paused, hand on his stomach,_ I wish Sarah shared Nicole's cooking genes!_

Finished with the bathroom Derek began to walk towards the front of the house, pausing to look Nicole and Steven's wedding picture. _I wish that were me and Sarah…_ he shook with fraternal guilt and accidentally knocked some documents off of the table the picture had been on.

"Shit, Sarah you're driving home," he mumbled.

He bent to pick up the stack of papers and froze. He slowly reached out to grab them and then, even more slowly, he straightened up. The top paper was a letter.

"We cordially invite you to the annual employee picnic," the letter began.

Derek wasn't looking at the writing. His eyes were fixed on the letterhead.

_Holy Shit…._

Back in the dinning room the rest of the Reese family were getting ready to leave.

Nicole and Sarah were hugging.

"I can't believe how fast that went!" exclaimed Sarah

"I know… it's so good to see you!"

Jessi was staring at John incredulously, "Can I keep those?" She asked pointing to the napkin. She wanted to rework his equations, she was a little miffed that he had shown her up.

"Sure. No problem" John shrugged.

Kyle beamed, thoroughly impressed with the girl he had just met, "You are one unique girl Cameron."

"One of a kind!" she replied with a smile.

"I hope so! If there were more of you I think you could take over the world in a matter of days."

Her eyes widened. _You have no idea._

Worried that he had offended her he pulled her into a friendly hug. It was then that he noticed.

_Her heart! It doesn't sound right! The beat is way to fast…and it doesn't seem to becoming from the right place… it's too low_ _on her frame_… _could this be what was throwing Jessi and I? _

He broke their hug and smiled, "I enjoyed meeting you."

"Likewise."

He couldn't wait to talk to Jessi. He focused his thoughts and reached out to her, as he had many times before.

_Yes?_

_I think I figured out why she seems different! He heartbeat is as fast as a newborn's and it doesn't seem to be coming from the right place. Something is definitely off with her._

_We'll talk later_.

Cameron had been saying goodbye to Josh when she sensed the anomaly again. Three to be exact. It was different this time, more directed, more organized…almost like a transmission of some kind… Luckily, she had been actively scanning for the anomaly and was able to triangulate the origin of each burst. Her targeting reticule was flashing between Kyle and Jessi.

She cocked her head to one side. _What the?_

The gathering was breaking up. John and Sarah were already standing outside the door. She followed Derek out and turned to wave goodbye. Everyone was smiling and waving back but Kyle and Jessi were staring at her intently.

Derek tossed Sarah the keys who tossed them to John, "Safety first," she laughed.

Cameron was straggling as she attempted to interpret the energy burst she had intercepted. She finally got into the truck and closed the door. She was about to inform John of her discovery when Derek beat her to the punch.

"I think we have a problem."


	6. Hell Hath No Fury

**Hell Hath No Fury…**

John laid in his bed watching Cameron pace back and forth, her mouth moving silently as she attempted to work out the problem. _That's a new one_ he thought. _She is getting more human by the day_.

His mind drifted back to the startling revelation Derek had made in the car.

"Sarah," he began, not sure how to address the issue, "Did you happen to ask Stephen anything about his job?"

"No…why?" she asked uneasily

"I saw an invitation to a company picnic-"

"DEREK REESE, you were SPYING on my relatives?!?"

"No of course not! I just knocked a pile of papers off of a table on the way to the head and when I put them back I happened to glance at the one on top!" The words came out in a jumble as Derek tried to defend himself, he really wasn't looking for a fight.

John snorted, "What's up, Rummy?"

Derek resisted the urge to smack him upside the head.

"What did you see Derek?" interjected the ever practical Cameron.

Derek paused, "Stephen works for Sym-Tech."

The temperature in the car seemed to drop several degrees.

Sym-Tech.

The highest priority on John Henry's list. The entire reason for their trip.

They all spoke at once:

"Fuck me," breathed John.

From Sarah, "You gotta be kidding me."

And an almost inaudible, "Oh no," from Cameron.

Derek glanced at Cameron _what do you care? Just another target, right?_ He wisely kept his mouth shut.

After making Cameron promise not to do anything without clearing it with her first, it was closer to begging really, Sarah retreated to her room to think. Derek was in the bar next door which left John and Cameron alone.

John wanted to discuss Sym-Tech but Cameron was more interested in deciphering what she had intercepted, hence the pacing.

John's eyelids were almost closed when Cameron let out a furious yell. He practically hit the ceiling and had his thermite-rounded loaded Glock out in seconds.

Cameron looked at him confusedly.

Realizing what happened, John snapped, "Don't DO that!" And placed his gun back under the pillow.

Cameron ignored him, "I have tried everything I can think of, used every filter, run every code breaking algorithm I know. It doesn't make SENSE!" She stamped her foot like a child on the word sense.

John repressed the urge to laugh. He didn't need her anger directed towards him.

"Well Cam, maybe it was some sort of psychic conversation thing… then no amount of filtering or code breaking will help. You might as well ask for intercession from Mary…"

"John Connor, are you making-" her eyes widened and her mouth formed a little 'o', "fun of me?" she finished softly a few seconds later.

She turned on him in a flash and stared at him intently

_Oh shit_.

He grabbed for a pillow to put between him and his furious girlfriend, but she was on him in a second

_Here it comes_.

He braced for impact. Instead of the slap or punch he assumed was coming, he found himself gasping for breath as she attacked him with he lips

"John," mmmph, "Connor," mumph, "You wonderful," uhhhaph, "beautiful," mmmmmppphh, "brilliant," mwah, "Man!"

_Wait what? _He looked up in shock at Cameron, who was now straddling him.

"Uh, what?"

"That was it!"

"What was it?"

"It was a conversation."

"What?" He said flatly _I wonder if she has overheated her CPU or something. _

"Yup!"

_Is there a Pescadero for robots? _ He mused.

"I converted the data into a sound file."

"And you heard the universe speak to you?"

"Don't be flip John. Here, listen."

She opened her mouth and:

"Yes?" came Jessi's voice

"I think I figured out why she seems different! He heartbeat is as fast as a newborn's and it doesn't seem to be coming from the right place. Something is definitely off with her." That was unmistakably Kyle.

"We'll talk later," Jessi again.

"I added their vocal patterns myself, so you would get the idea."

John was dazed, confused and shocked. _What is this… who are… how is… what the fuck?_

"You don't have a heartbeat." Was all he managed to get out.

***

Jessi surveyed the motel before her. _That's their truck_ she thought as she saw the black Ram. _Now where are they?_

She moved closer. _Kyle is going to be so mad at me_ said a little voice in her head. She frowned. _He wouldn't have let me go, and even if he did he would have insisted on coming along and gotten in the way._ She let out an exasperated sigh. Part of the reason she loved Kyle more than anybody on earth was his innate goodness. She tried to emulate it, frequently asked herself 'What Would Kyle Do?" when she was unsure of herself, but deep down, she knew there was a fundamental difference between them. She had a killer instinct.

At first she blamed it on her intense entry into the world, then she blamed MadaCorp and all the fucking with her head they had done. But ultimately she accepted what she had known all along. Her killer instinct was part of what made her, well, her. It was in her psyche. That's why she needed Kyle. He was her anchor, her compass… her captain. He made her good. Still… if she if she was completely honest with herself it was exhilarating to give into her darker side now and then. Nothing serious, just a malfunctioning ATM spewing 20s here, a break in to a government mainframe there… No victims, just a little fun. Kyle's moral highroad, _check that_, moral highway, and trusting nature could get on her nerves every once in awhile, these bouts of mischief were her releases, her safety valves. Besides it was her ability to "be bad" that kept the Tragers, and more importantly Kyle, safe. If he was her captain, she was his chief of security, his bodyguard. She made sure that no one took advantage of him… or at least that no one took advantage of him twice.

Jessi was unable to get closer whilst remaining in the shadows. Wanting to ensure complete anonymity, she employed a trick Kyle had taught her years ago when breaking into a facility to save Amanda. _God I hate that little brat_…

Jessi shook herself and focused on the task at hand. Closing her eyes and concentrating, she manipulated the electrical current in the neon sign advertising free HBO and wireless internet. There was a soft 'pop' and the sign went dark. _So far, so good. _She reached out again and snuffed every exterior light of the hotel. She waited for a few minutes to make sure the coast was clear. Adjusting her eyesight as Kyle had taught her, she strode confidently towards the room in front of the truck.

"Hello Jessi," came a voice from behind her.

***

"That's true, I don't." Cameron wondered what Kyle had sensed, if he had sensed anything at all, and initiated a systems check as she continued to look at John. "It's more like a water pump." She said as she pointed to her left breast.

She reviewed the results of the scan. There was a report for a system she didn't recognize. _What now?_ She thought as she opened the file.

John felt her stiffen and looked up in concern.

"That's impossible!" She whispered in horror.

"What-"

The lights outside suddenly went out. Cameron whipped her head around to face the window, eyes narrowed. She had picked up the anomaly again. "We have a visitor." She analyzed the energy burst and compared it to the ones she had recorded earlier. "I believe it is Jessi…"

***

Jessi jumped five feet in the air, literally. _How did she do that? No one sneaks up on me, not even Kyle!_ Her eyes, tuned to the infrared spectrum, locked on to Cameron in the darkness. _How can she see me?! It's pitch black!_ She noticed the object in Cameron's hand, the outline crystal clear against the girl's heat signature.

Jessi smiled. _This just got interesting_.

"Just so we are clear Jessi, I am pointing a gun at you. I want you to know that I take the security of this family extremely seriously." She took a step forward, "John seems to like you, that is the only reason we are having this conversation."

"Oh really? And what if John didn't like me?" Jessi asked a slight smile on her face. "You would have shot me in cold blood? I doubt it. When will you people learn that you don't frighten me?"

_You people? Does she mean the resistance?! _"I am only going to ask this once. I will know if you are lying. Are you from Skynet?"

"Mind games? Nice try. You have no idea who you are dealing with do you? I thought Latnok would have briefed you better. Now. Who sent you!?!" Cameron observed that Jessi didn't seem to react at the mention of Skynet, but she maintained her weariness.

Cameron sighed, "You are trying my patience Jessi. I am the one with the gun here."

Jessi smirked "Are you?"

The gun jerked out of Cameron's grip but fell far short of Jessi's outstretched hand.

_She must be stronger than I thought_. "Oops. Did you drop your big scary gun?" mocked Jessi.

If Jessi had been viewing the normal spectrum of light she would have noticed the bright blue glow in Cameron's eyes.

She didn't know how Jessi had done what she just did but it didn't matter.

**SUBJECT: Jessi Trager**

**THREAT LEVEL: High**

**ACTION: TERMINATE**

"That was a mistake."

A/N: I would love to hear reader thoughts on the outcome of the upcoming battle. Any insights are much appreciated!! I hope you are enjoying the story so far, if not I'm sorry!


	7. Tin Man

**A/N** Sorry this took so long to post. My compy turned off before I could save it and had to rewrite half of it. Let me know what you think!

**Tin Man**

"'You are cer-tain-ly as good as you are beau-ti-ful! But you have not yet told me how to get back to Kansas.'" The little girl struggled with some of the words as she read aloud on her mother's lap.

"'Your Silver Shoes will carry you over the desert,' replied Glinda. 'If you had known their power you could have gone back to your Aunt Em the very first day you came to this country.'

'But then I should not have had my wonderful brains!' cried the Scarecrow. 'I might have passed my whole life in the farmer's cornfield.'

'And I should not have had my lovely heart,' said the Tin Woodman. 'I might have stood and rusted in the forest till the end of the world.'

'And I should have lived a coward forever,' declared the Lion, 'and no beast in all the forest would have had a good word to say to me.'

'This is all true, said Dorothy, 'and I am glad I was of use to these good friends. But now that each of them has had what he most de-des-des…' what is this word mommy?"

"Desired. It means to want something."

"Oh. Thank you mommy." The little girl continued, "'des-ir-ed, and each is happy in having a kingdom to rule besides, I think I should like to go back to Kansas.'"

The girl stopped reading the story and looked up at her mother. I LIKE this story mommy!"

"You do?" He mother asked with faux incredulousness, "And why is that sweetie?"

"It reminds me of my friends!"

"Really?" she wasn't prepared for this answer. "How so?"

The little girl put her arms on her mother's legs and pushed her self into a more vertical position on her lap. "Well. I think that that my friend Cameron is Dorothy because she went somewhere strange like Dorothy did in the tornado, and she needed help from all her friends to get home. I think that my friend John is the scarecrow because he is Cameron's best friend and he is really smart, he just didn't know how smart until she helped him."

Her mother's eyes were wide as she stared at her daughter._ This is interesting._

"Agent Ellison is the cowardly lion because he is really brave!" _I think we'll keep that comparison to ourselves. _"John's uncle is the Tin-Man because deep down he really does have a heart-"

Her mother's laugh stopped her, "Please continue."

"John's mommy is Auntie Em because she is always worried about John and Cameron." _More than you realize honey_.

"And John Henry is the wizard because everybody was afraid of him but he was really just a nice, regular man."

He mother was quiet for a moment.

Hesitantly, as though she dreaded the answer, she asked, "Savannah?"

"Yes Mommy?"

"Who… who am I in your story."

Savannah beamed her biggest smile at her mother. "Mommy, that's a silly question! You are Glenda the Good Witch of course! You always look after everybody and make sure they are ok!"

Catherine Weaver stared at her "daughter". A single tear streaked down her cheek.

***

"Mommy!"

"Savannah!" Catherine Weaver bent down, arms wide to catch the streak of red that had made bee-line to her.

Catherine pulled the girl in tight, "Oh I missed you so much! Let me look at you!" _I missed you? I do not miss anything. _Catherine frowned inwardly, unable to explain her comment. _It was the right thing to say. I had to reassure the girl and to let he know that I am emotionally invested in her…._ _Yes, it was the right thing to do…. _The little voice that had been cropping up in her head more frequently as of late spoke up, _to her you have been gone slightly longer than 24 hours. Your comment was not necessary._

"Mommy, why are you crying?"

Catherine froze. She reached up to her face with one hand and wiped a tear from her cheek. She stared at it for a moment and then the tear absorbed into her finger with a slight ripple.

"I don't… I don't know Savannah."

Just then John Henry walked through the door.

Savannah squealed with delight and ran to embrace her friend. Arms locked around his legs she asked, "Did you have a good trip with Mommy?"

"I did Savannah, it was very productive."

Weaver slowly straightened up and turned to face he daughter and John Henry. _I think I am going to have to speak with Cameron after all._

Several miles away another machine-human reunion was taking place. It was not going as well.

Both arms resting on the small table in front of her, Sarah Connor stared at the face across from her. Inches from her left hand was a half empty bottle of vodka, a desert eagle loaded with the last of Derek's special thermite rounds lay even closer to her right.

Sarah replayed the last 20 minutes in her head, they were a little fuzzy.

She had been at the kitchen table, slugging shots of vodka when Tin-Miss had walked into the room and sat down across from her….

_Well, I guess I've finally done some brain damage. That only took… _she struggled to determine how long she had been drinking, _12 hours? Wow._

"Hello Sarah."

Sarah's eyes widened. _Oh shit._ "You fucking, metal bitch! I'll kill you" She screamed.

With surprising speed and dexterity for all the drinking she had done, Sarah flung herself from her chair, arms extended, at the duffle bag several feet away. In a flash she had her hands around the grip of the Desert Eagle and was bringing it to bear on Cameron.

Expecting a reaction like this Cameron removed the gun from her hands milliseconds after Sarah had retrieved it.

"Please remain calm."

"Where is my son you steel whore?" Sarah lunged from the ground and threw a punch at Cameron. Missing by more than a foot, she stumbled and would've fallen had Cameron not caught her.

"Sarah, control yourself."

Sarah spit in Cameron's face, and pushed away from her.

Careful not to use her full strength Cameron backhanded Sarah in the mouth. "Don't be rude."

Eyes watering and ears ringing from the blow, Sarah glared at her. "Fine. Do it. I know you are going to. Just do it now and save us the trouble."

Cameron sighed and turned to sit at the table. "Stop being so melodramatic Sarah. Sit down," she pointed at the chair where Sarah had been sitting when she came in, "shut up, and listen to me for five minutes. And I mean really LISTEN to me, can you do that you stubborn bitch?"

_Did she just tell me to sit down and shut up? _Sarah felt her body obeying Cameron automatically.

Cameron began. "You last saw your son a little more than 24 hours ago, correct?"

"Yes. The little shit decided it was more important to chase his robot friend into the future than to save mankind."

Cameron slammed her hand down on the table, at least that's what she meant to do. In reality she had smashed a whole clean through the Formica and particleboard. Sarah jumped involuntarily. "You will refrain from using language like that in reference to my John. Now, let me continue, you last saw John less than two days ago, however, he hasn't seen you in almost a year and a half."

Sarah's head was swimming Sarah ignored the last comment for a moment and focused on Cameron's previous one, "_Your_ John? YOUR JOHN? Just who do you think you are missy?"

"I am your future daughter in law, and you will treat me with respect Sarah Connor!"

***

Shaking her head Sarah tried to absorb all that Cameron had just told her. She was purposely ignoring the machine's revelation that brought up images of diamonds and white dresses. "So John met his father?"

"Yes"

Sarah choked back a cry. "How did…. Did he… what…?"

Cameron smiled. "Derek did not believe it right away, but according to John, Kyle took one look at him and somehow knew John was his son immediately. The time travel aspect was more difficult to convince them of, but luckily Catherine Weaver was able to assist in that department."

Sarah shuddered at the mention of the T-1001.

"And John and Derek are in the hospital?"

Cameron shook her head. "They are in a private clinic run by Miss Weaver. They are receiving care from two T-800 model 101s."

"What?!" shrieked Sarah, eyes bulging.

"They have been scrubbed and reprogrammed as doctors by Miss Weaver. John and Derek could not receive better care anywhere in the world."

_That's probably true actually_ thought Sarah. "Why? How did they get hurt?"

"At the very end of our time in the future, Skynet learned of John Henry's existence and of the TDE he had constructed. Such technology did not exist in that time line because there was no John Connor for Skynet to need to kill in the past. Skynet wanted the technology and wanted to destroy John Henry. Its forces breached our defenses just as we were about to make the jump. In the firefight, John was shot in the left arm, the left thigh and twice in the right leg. He lost a lot of blood." Tears were dripping down Cameron's face. _Nice try missy, even crocodiles cry_.

Gaining control of herself, Cameron continued, "Derek was shot in the lower abdomen, the chest, and both legs."

Sarah felt a sudden knot in her stomach. She felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her, her eyes widened and started to tear. She knew. She was sure. It was in everything the machine was not saying. She whispered, "Kyle?"

More tears dripped down Cameron's face and she looked down at the table, unable to meet Sarah's gaze.

She shook her head once.

Sarah let out a sob. "H-h-how?"

Cameron wiped her cheeks and raised her head to look at Sarah. In that instant, Sarah finally understood what the 1000-yard stare meant. "John, Kyle, Derek, and I were retreating to the time bubble. I was to John's right, slightly in front of him, Derek was directly to his left and Kyle was to Derek's left, slightly behind him. A T-700 appeared out of nowhere and outflanked us. Derek and I took the brunt of it but John was hit too. Kyle yelled for me to get John to the bubble. He went for Derek. Somehow he got him up and they stumbled towards the bubble. They had just made it inside when the countdown completed." It was Cameron's turn to sob, "Unfortunately so did several rounds from the T-700. Colonel Kyle Reese caught five rounds in the back. When we snapped back into time in the basement of Zeira Corp. Kyle collapsed. He knew he was finished," She smiled weakly at Sarah, "He lived enough to tell John and Derek he loved them," She stopped talking as several uncontrollable sobs wracked her body, "and t-t-t--to tell me he wished he could have seen our wedding." She paused. "Then he closed his eyes."

**A/N** So I know I kinda pulled a South Park here, not giving you the fight scene. I have to be honest, I am really nervous to write that scene. It was the whole reason I started this story and I am not good at action sequences (in case the complete lack of it so far hadn't alerted you to this fact). I promise that I will stop being a pussy and write it.


	8. Hell Hath No Fury Part II

**Hell Hath No Fury Part II**

**A/N **To those of you who have been following this sorry for the extremely long time between posts. I was studying for the LSAT. Having succeeded in failing miserably at those I now have much more time to dedicate to failing at writing good fiction. :-)

Clink

The glass hit the peeling faux wood surface of the bar with a despondent resoluteness.

"Reload."

Amber liquid cascaded from the plastic bottle. A few drops missed their mark adding to the sticky mess already sullying the majesty of the, dented, beaten bar. Hard, calloused fingers grasped the rim of the cheap glass and quickly brought the vessel to a pair of chapped lips. There was a momentary pause in its trajectory, like a rollercoaster at the top of a steep rise, and then it continued on its inevitable path.

Clink

Again the glass struck the table.

"Reload."

The ritual repeated.

_Rough Day_ he thought. _Rough Mother Fucking Day_.

Derek Reese, Tech-Com Officer, Future Soldier, Wanted Fugitive. The labels danced through his head. _Uncle of Humanity's Savior_… _Transgressor of the Tenth Commandment... and probably a few more… _Derek grimaced. Somehow breaking the Tenth of those silly rules seemed far more sinful than breaking the Sixth. _I mean, God,_ his eyes involuntarily flicked skyward,_ if you are even up there you glorious bastard, will probably forgive transgressions relating to the destruction of Skynet…right? _He smirked and directed his thoughts upwards again. _You of all people know that some eggs have to break when cooking up an omelet, right big man? No? What about that little wet spell? You know 40 days and 40 nights, a big boat? _He looked up again and shrugged almost imperceptibly. _Come on, we aren't so different are we?_ He paused, his face was suddenly warm and it wasn't entirely due to the booze. _Well, except for number ten I guess. _

"He answer you yet?"

Derek was jerked violently from whatever world he was inhabiting and his eyes narrowed as they locked onto the bar tender.

"Come again?"

_Oh boy, one of __those_. Eyes like that, the ones with no bottom to them, always equaled trouble. Suddenly unsure of himself, the bartender ventured, "You have that look, man. That and you keep looking up… I know the ceiling ain't that interestin. You're havin one hell of a talk with the man upstairs aren't you?"

"That look?"

_Definitely one of those. Keep it simple and don't rile him now Sam. Just end it quickly and get your ass to the other end of the bar._ "You know. The look man. The look every man gets the day his whole world goes away."

Derek stared at him for a moment, quiet as the grave. He was _good_ at quiet.

The bartender stiffened. _Oh shit._

After what seemed like an eternity to Sam, Derek cracked a smile so faint and sour it was practically a scowl, "Buddy, you have no idea."

Sam relaxed and let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

Derek glanced at the empty shot glass in front of him.

"Reload."

Sam moved to pour his touchy patron another round when the bar was thrust into darkness, "Oh hell."

_Now what?_ Derek's threat radar was on high alert. _How many shots was that?_ _Christ what was I thinking? Drinking on a mission? General Connor would have me court-martialed!_ He allowed himself a chuckle, _I guess the worse I can expect is severe moodiness, or maybe some aggressive angst…_His smile twisted into a mask of terror, _what is SHE going to do? FUCK, FUCK! _His mind raced. He quickly ducked his head under the bar and shoved two fingers down his throat. _Well this is a waste of booze,_ he thought as most of what he had just consumed backpedaled violently.

"Ahh what the hell man? Are you booting?"

Derek didn't even bother with an answer as he stumbled in the darkness for the exit. He did some quick alcoholic math and figured that the most he would have to deal with was a slight paused his trek to the door and popped two pieces of gum into his mouth. _Cameron might make me but at least SHE wont… hopefully._

He had made it to the door and was about to dash outside when a body came flying through the window on his right. There were a few screams and then some muffled grunts as his fellow boozehounds tried to extricate themselves from the mess they inexplicably found themselves in.

Derek squinted through the gloom in attempt to see who had just become a projectile.

_Please don't be John, please don't be John._

As he moved forward to investigate a figure sat up mechanically. There was just enough light coming from the hastily renovated window for Derek to see the figure's face.

_Oh fuck me._ "Cameron?"

***

Several Minutes Earlier

The gun jerked out of Cameron's grip but fell far short of Jessi's outstretched hand.

_She must be stronger than I thought_. "Oops. Did you drop your big scary gun?" mocked Jessi.

If Jessi had been paying closer attention clearly she would have noticed the bright blue glow in Cameron's eyes.

Cameron didn't know how Jessi had done what she just did but it didn't matter.

Her HUD was practically screaming with new priorities for her.

**SUBJECT: Jessi Trager**

**THREAT LEVEL: High**

**ACTION: TERMINATE**

"That was a mistake."

Cameron quickly closed the distance between herself and her new target. With lightening speed born of her original purpose she struck out with her right arm and grabbed Jessi by the throat. Lifting her several inches off the ground she cocked her head to one side as she studied her prey.

Jessi was shocked at how quickly she found herself caught by this petit girl, she barely had time to register her surprise and to wonder if Cameron was some sort of pod child as well when she found her feet kicking at nothingness. _Hey! That's my move bitch!_ Moving with a speed to rival Cameron's, Jessi brought her left arm down on the elbow of the arm holding her up with enough force to shatter bone while simultaneously delivering an open palmed strike to her captor's solar plexus.

Jessi's eyes widened when she realized neither strike had any visible effect. She was starting to see black spots across her vision as her brain screamed for oxygen. Utilizing all of the skills her father had forced her to learn to shut out pain, Jessi maintained her focus and landed a vicious kick to Cameron's belly.

**WARNING: Impact detected in lower abdominal cavity**

_What the hell? Why does that matter?_ _There isn't even any skin damage…. Oh._

The warning concerned the subsystem she had just discovered ten minutes ago. Cameron dropped her captive to the ground and froze. Jessi scrambled away from the girl who now appeared to have forgotten her existence entirely.

_Initiate Diagnostic of subsystem "__.beta_.1"

**Initiating ****.beta.1****Diagnostic ………………………….**

**Diagnostic complete. **

******.beta.1** integrity: 95%

**Initiating Automatic Combat Effectiveness Update…………..**

**Update Complete**

**Estimated Combat Effectiveness: 93%**

****PRIMARY MISSION UPDATE****

**Primary Mission: Maintain integrity of subsystem ****.beta.1**

_What?!? That must be a glitch. Protect a subsystem of myself?!_

_Override Primary Mission_

**WARNING: Unable to override Primary Mission**

_Override Primary Mission, Authorization code = We're off to see the Wizard_

**OVERIDE AUTHORIZATION CODE "JOHN CONNOR 1" DENIED**

**OPENING FILE: **

"Cameron I am sorry to have altered your mission parameters. John was dead set against this because he refused to put programming into you to force you to act in any set way once you developed fully. However, I was worried you might not understand right away and therefore I created this parameter myself. John couldn't say anything against this since it was me programming myself (or maybe us programming our self ?). John and I don't even know if this will ever be an issue because of the complexity of the timeline shift. I do know that at the time of writing this I/you/we are not fully developed emotionally. We are going to be scrubbed before we are sent back so you will have no memory of our actions. Please know that I think it is a good thing if you/we are reading this because that means you/we will be better suited to protect John Connor. Furthermore he will be happy that you/we and he are together and that you/we will be able to return his feelings fully. I assume that if I could, I would feel happy that you/we have developed far enough to feel emotion for John Connor and that you/we are with him. As of now I can only 'feel' satisfaction that you/we have become a better protector of John Connor. Anyway please do not be… upset, that I/you have given yourself a new primary mission. It is always preferable to be prepared for all contingencies. I know in time you will see the soundness of my/your judgment and that you will agree with me/yourself. In case you haven't realized what this is all about yet, if you are seeing this message, you/we are pregnant. Because of the programming, at first you/we will have no choice but to take care of mine/yours and John Connor's baby, but John is sure that you/we will grow to want to do this. I believe he is creating an If/Then statement to disable this mission once you have accepted the offspring's primacy. Until that point it will be undeletable.

Good Bye."

**CLOSING FILE: **

_I can't believe I used to talk like that_

**Recalculating Combat Effectiveness Per New Mission Parameters……**

**Estimated Net Combat Effectiveness: 55%**

**Suggested Action: AVOID HOSTILE CYBERNETIC ORGANISMS AT ALL COSTS. **

In the three seconds that Cameron had remained immobile as her systems informed her of her situation, Jessi had happened to slide over the gun she had ripped out of Cameron's hand earlier. She smiled as her fingers curled around the cold steel. She jumped to her feet and brought the Glock to bear on her foe.

"Look who has the gun now bitch!"

Registering the movement and realizing the implications of her new directive, Cameron dove at Jessi before the inexperienced girl could realize what was happening. Jessi was unable to get a shot off, but she was able to land a vicious blow to the top of Cameron's head with the butt of the pistol just before Cameron plowed into her midriff. Jessi felt her ribs crack. _Who is this girl??_

As they both tumbled to the ground Jessi caught the glint of metal under the gash she had just inflicted on Cameron's head. Pure unbridled fear rushed through Jessi's body. _WHAT IS THIS GIRL???_

***

Still wet from the shower, Kyle Trager slowly walked down the stairs towards his and Jessi's rooms. Having long ago broken Nicole's rules about fooling around in the house (something he still felt guilty about but had absolutely no intention of changing), he paused and focused his mind on his hearing. Lori was out, Josh was snoring, Stephen was fast asleep, and Nicole was obviously having some sort of pleasant dream as she was murmuring Stephen's name…. Kyle instantly cut off his hearing as his face turned beet red. _As much as I appreciate these powers sometimes they do have horrible consequences… TOO MUCH INFORMATION. AHHHHHH! _He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head in an effort to cleanse his mind of that memory, which given his perfect recall was a completely futile endeavor. _Damn, Damn, Damn, Damn. Grapefruit! Jessi Naked! Grapefruit! Sex with Jessi! _

His mental gymnastics having worked, Kyle looked down at himself and realized he had a new problem to contend with. _I hope Jessi is in the mood,_ he thought as he smirked wickedly.

He continued down the stairs with renewed aplomb and was just about to knock on Jessi's door quietly when he was struck by a wave of pure fear. Kyle collapsed against the wall as his mind was overwhelmed with images from Jessi. _What the hell? Where is she? _He thought wildly. Kyle kicked open Jessi's door with such force that the jamb, the hinges and part of the wall went flying into her room. _Please be a dream! Please be having a bad dream Jessi! _His hopes were crushed when he glanced at her bed and saw it was still made with the military precision she was so fond of. He dropped to one knee as more images and feelings of intense fear and anger flooded into him from Jessi. He was extremely confused by the images. Jessi seemed to be engaged in a vicious street fight with someone… _Is that Cameron? Why is Jessi fighting with Cameron_? Kyle's mind caught up with itself as he formulated the more important question, _how is she beating Jessi?_

Kyle tore from Jessi's room, flew down the hall and straight into the front door. He hadn't even paused to open it, choosing instead to barrel straight through. He cleared the yard in several giant leaps and quickly found himself screaming down the road, his bathrobe flailing madly in the wind. He quickly analyzed the images from Jessi again and determined where she must be judging by the signs and the buildings he saw. Running faster than he ever had in his life Kyle computed that she was approximately 5 miles away and that he would be there in less than 20 minutes at his current pace. He frowned. _Unacceptable._ His mind racing as fast as his feet, an idea jumped into his head. _I wonder… Would that work? Could I keep it up long enough? Fuck it, it's worth a shot._ Hardly changing his stride he abruptly cut to his right and jumped a fence into a person's yard. Dodging patio furniture and children's toys he ran calculations in his head. _It is 2 miles out of the way to get there, but it runs right past the motel… top speed is, well untested. _"WHOA!" he screamed.

Kyle flung his arms out and dove forward as he tripped on a dog bone. With amazing dexterity he landed on his hands and immediately rocketed himself over them in a perfect front handspring that placed him over the far fence and back onto a road. A few minutes of lung busting running later, he saw the bridge in front of him and put on a burst of speed. Reaching the far edge of the bridge he leapt off into space without a moments hesitation… and plummeted almost 15 feet before he managed to divert his focus to his internal polarity and stopped just short of the water. Hovering in place for a moment he took a deep breath and focused downstream. _Well he goes nothing…._

_***_

A young fawn paused as it reached the river's edge, and it looked back at its mother for reassurance before it decided to proceed. Carefully it looked up and down stream eyeing for predators. It flared its nostrils deeply once, twice, three times before it was certain there were no threats. Slowly it bent its head to the stream and began to softly lap water into its mouth. Warnings signs were just making their speedy way to its tiny brain when a wall of water and foam smacked into the poor thing sweeping it several feet back onto the bank. "YAAAAAAAHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO……."

***

Jessi and Cameron rolled over and over in the parking lot as each struggled for dominance. John stared helplessly from his doorway as his mind was assaulted with unanswerable questions. _Why is Jessi doing this? Who is she? She CAN'T be working for Skynet, she just CAN'T!..... How come Cam hasn't killed her yet? Why does she seem to be struggling?_

Cameron managed to shove Jessi into the air but the girl merely somersaulted backwards in mid-flight and landed gracefully on her feet. Cameron leapt up and marched toward her termination subject. Jessi smiled lazily and extended her hand towards Cameron. She employed the same technique that Kyle had once used to fling her across a room without physically touching her when they had tried to fake her death the previous year.

Cameron staggered slightly. She felt like she was walking through water. Her synthetic skin seemed to be pulling her endoskeleton in the opposite direction. _How is she doing this?_ Her pain sensors were sending frantic bursts of code across her HUD. _I am glad I can still turn those off, _she thought

Jessi's smiled disappeared. _You should be flying across the parking lot Cameron! What the FUCK?!_

She hadn't realized that Cameron's body contained only a small amount of water and that was located almost entirely in her synthetic skin. No amount of polarity altering shenanigans was going to move her coltan combat chassis. Jessi had barely registered her surprise when Cameron plowed into her a second time. They again hit the ground but Jessi wasted no energy trying to maneuver for the superior position. Opting instead for a game ender, she delivered what should have been a neck-snapping punch to Cameron's jaw. Far from being incapacitated, Cameron merely grunted slightly as her head snapped back an inch or two as Jessi heard her wrist and two fingers snap. It wasn't a pleasant sound. She stopped struggling and focused all of her thoughts and energy into her legs. With a tremendous explosion of power she launched Cameron across the parking lot through a window in the nearby bar.

_OH MY GOD_ thought John.

Jessi struggled slowly to her feet, a grim smile on her face. _You don't mess with best bitch!_

Her smile vanished as a very angry Cameron soon-to-be-Connor exploded back out of the bar, a look of pure rage plastered on her face.

_Fuck me._ She thought as she prepared for the impact. A split second before Cameron would have connected with her Jessi pushed off the ground with all of her remaining strength. Cameron passed under her like a bull through a matador's cape and continued headlong into a parked Toyota Tundra. The truck skidded sideways almost 15 feet as Jessi fell back to earth in a heap. Looking up at the damaged vehicle through her tangled hair Jessi's heart sank as she saw Cameron extricate her head from the metal siding with a slight grinding noise. Cameron turned and locked her eyes on Jessi. The rage that had been on her face was gone. In its place was a cold, emotionless façade. Jessi found the girl's new expression to be more terrifying than anything she had ever seen.

Cameron walked slowly towards her opponent. She assessed Jessi's combat effectiveness and saw that she was extremely damaged. Her HUD automatically dropped the threat rating significantly. Cameron had no doubt that the girl was finished. She stopped two feet from her as Jessi pulled herself painfully to her feet. Swaying slowly, Jessi struggled to focus on her enemy while maintaining her balance.

"Jessi Trager, you are terminated."

Unable to stand fully erect, Jessi smiled a twisted smirk as she stared up at Cameron through her hair, which now covered almost all of her face, with an evil, delirious gaze. The expression reminded Cameron of the look on the actor Jake Gyllenhaal had frequently employed in a movie she had recently watched with John, she frowned slightly, perplexed by her wandering thoughts at such a dangerous moment.

"Come and get me," breathed Jessi venomously.

Cameron stepped forward and pulled her left arm back to deliver a killing punch to the obviously beaten girl. If her systems hadn't been screaming at her about the status of .beta.1 she would have registered the massive energy fluctuations swirling around Jessi and herself. She probably would have also noticed that every car alarm in a three-block radius was going off.

Cameron's fist was less than six inches from its target when Jessi emitted a guttural scream and discharged an enormous burst of electricity directly at Cameron.

Unable to move, Derek and John had both been watching the climax of Jessi and Cameron's brawl with their mouths hanging open. Neither of them could comprehend what was actually happening… a human girl was holding her own against a terminator in a bare-knuckle fight. As they watched mesmerized by Cameron as she began to deliver her killing blow they were momentarily blinded by the discharge of electricity from Jessi. When the flash subsided they saw both girls sprawled out on the pavement.

Before his brain could register what he was doing, John's legs were carrying him in a dead sprint towards the motionless fighters. Derek on the other hand, found himself stood rooted to the spot. _Did that just come from Jessi?_ He blinked as he realized what John was doing and leapt into action to intercept his nephew.

John had almost reached them when his uncle knocked him off his feet.

"Derek! What the fuck are you doing?" He screamed as he struggled to free himself from Derek's grasp.

"Stop! Stop it John!" He elbowed his nephew as hard as he could in the face, _sorry sir_. John sagged slightly. _SHE is going to make me pay for that one. "John stop. Think! Stay back! You saw what Jessi just did!"_

John was furious but he knew his uncle was right. _Cam, oh Cam be ok! You have to be ok!"_

Before either nephew or uncle could make another move they were distracted by a roaring sound from the river across the street. Completely dumbstruck, they both stared unbelievingly as Kyle Trager shot up from the river 40 feet into the air in a giant spray of water and landed with a pavement-cracking thud on the opposite side of the parking lot from them.

**A/N: ** So I can't claim the whole "reload" method of drinking employed by Derek as my own. I saw it in one of the numerous fics I have read on this site but can't for the life of me remember which one. I really liked the idea of Derek drinking like this so I wanted to include it in my story. If anyone knows what story it was from just let me know and I will be sure to give credit where credit is due. Well I finally got to the scenario that started my whole story in the first place. I hope that people enjoyed it! I find writing the fight scenes to be really, really, hard because it is so difficult to convey everything that I see in my mind's eye to the reader. I am thinking that I actually want to continue this for quite awhile as I further merge the lives of Kyle, Jessi, Cameron and John. It seems only fitting as both shows were terminated far before their time. What do you think? Should it continue?


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